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Media, Public Invited to Visit NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope Exhibit at ‘South by Southwest’

NASA's Colleen Quinn-House explains how the Webb telescope will see in infrared light at the NASA Booth, SXSW 2015.
NASA’s Colleen Quinn-House explains how the Webb telescope will see in infrared light at the NASA Booth, SXSW 2015. Credits: Laura Betz

NASA is partnering with the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) and the Northrop Grumman Corporation to highlight the James Webb Space Telescope at South by Southwest (SXSW) from March 13 to 19, 2016. The Webb telescope exhibit will be located at the Austin Convention Center, 500 E. Cesar Chavez Street, Austin, Texas.

Free to the public, the Webb telescope exhibit in the Gaming Expo will show visitors how this incredibly complex telescope is being built, and will describe the amazing things we expect to learn about the universe. Visitors can talk with scientists and engineers who will share how Webb will inspire the next generation to push the boundaries of science and technology. The exhibit will feature a touchscreen displaying science visualizations and other videos, tablets with Webb apps and handouts.

The Webb telescope is NASA’s top science program in development that will allow scientists to peer ever farther into the cosmos, seeing things no previous telescope has been able to see and explore the formation of the first stars and galaxies.

1. March 13 at 11 a.m. CST: SXSW Interactive Panel: “Extreme Science: NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope”
Westin Austin Downtown, 301 E. 5th Street, Paramount 2-3.
Panelists include:

  • Amber Straughn, astrophysicist, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland
  • Blake Bullock, director at Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems
  • Joel Green, astrophysicist and project scientist at the Space Telescope Science Institute
  • Sarah Kendrew, astronomer at ESA (European Space Agency).

http://schedule.sxsw.com/2016/events/event_PP52001 (Badge holders)

Visitors listen to an explanation of how the Webb telescope will see the famous Eagle Nebula in infrared light at the NASA Booth
Visitors listen to an explanation of how the Webb telescope will see the famous Eagle Nebula in infrared light at the NASA Booth, SXSW 2015. Credits: Lynn Chandler

2. March 13 to 16: Webb telescope material and presenters at the NASA Exhibit in the SXSW Trade Show
Austin Convention Center, Exhibit Halls 2, 3 and 4, 500 E. Cesar Chavez Street.
http://www.sxsw.com/exhibitions/trade-show (Badge holders)

3. March 17 to 19: Large Webb telescope Exhibit at SXSW Gaming Expo
Austin Convention Center, Southside, Exhibit Halls 1 and 2. 

http://www.sxsw.com/exhibitions/gaming-expo (Free and open to the public)

For more information, including a full list of events, visit the SXSW event website at: http://www.sxsw.com/attend/getting-around/austin-convention-center

For more information about South by Southwest, visit: http://sxsw.com/

For more information about the James Webb Space Telescope, visit: jwst.nasa.gov or www.nasa.gov/webb

The NASA James Webb Space Telescope booth at SXSW in 2015.
The NASA James Webb Space Telescope booth at SXSW in 2015. Credits: Lynn Chandler

Lynn Chandler
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
301-286-2806
Lynn.chandler-1@nasa.gov
Bonnie Meinke
Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Md.
meinke@stsci.edu
410-338-2923
Connie Reese
Northrop Grumman Corporation, Redondo Beach, Calif.
Connie.Reese@ngc.com
310-812-3166